Ulster Museum

Ulster Museum is one of several attractions within Belfast’s Botanic Gardens. Originally founded as the Belfast Natural History Society in 1821, the museum moved to its current location in 1929. There’s a real mix of exhibits here – from fossils and sealife to local, religious, and global history. A personal favourite is an unexpected exhibit: the infamous blackboard from the TV show Derry Girls. The blackboard captures so much about Belfast, with widely incorrect assumptions from either side of Catholicism and Protestantism, highlighting The Troubles, but also the wit and humour that define this proud city. Where the museum falters is in the areas where old meets new – some facilities could do with improvement, which I’ll get into. That said, it’s a great day out, with plenty of thought given to access.

Have you ever seen a Michelangelo ? This exhibition includes sketches by the famous artist Including Picasso; Rembrandt; Rubens; Hockney & Bridget Reilly. A free exhibition, showing the different mark making preliminary sketches of famous artists. Grap a coffee afterwards in the ' yellow Door' cafe and contemplate the subject of your next drawing studies- you might even start in the cafe.